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Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The Journalist Cocktail

Stop the presses! You’ll need one of these to survive election season

The political news lately has been . . . interesting. So let’s raise a glass to the journalists who insist on bringing it to us.

Journalists are reputed to be hard-living, hard-drinking folks – with a particular fondness for gin. So this drink is a fitting honor for them. And it has enough clout to soothe our nerves during the closing days of this presidential campaign.

So mix up a batch and remind yourself that the election will soon be over. Then no news will be good news.

Recipe: The Journalist Cocktail

The Journalist – also known as The Periodista (Spanish for journalist) – is essentially a “perfect” Martini with extras. “Perfect” in cocktail parlance means that a drink contains equal quantities of both sweet and dry vermouth.

No one is sure when or where The Journalist was created. But we know it dates back at least to the 1930s. The recipe first appeared in print in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book. The original recipe calls for about half the amount of vermouth that we use (we think the flavor is much smoother with more vermouth).

This recipe serves 1, and takes about 5 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

2 ounces dry gin

½ ounce dry vermouth

½ ounce sweet vermouth

¼ teaspoon Grand Marnier (may substitute curaçao – see Notes)

¼ teaspoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

lemon twist for garnish (optional)

Procedure

Add all ingredients (except garnish) to a mixing glass half-filled with ice. Using a long-handled spoon, stir until the contents are well chilled – about 30 seconds.

Strain into a cocktail glass, preferably one that’s been chilled. Garnish with a lemon twist, if you wish, and serve.

Notes

Why stir rather than shake this drink? Because the ingredients are (mostly) clear. Shaking introduces small bubbles, which can make a drink cloudy. (The picture immediately above shows a shaken "cloudy" version.) If some of the ingredients are opaque, no worries – shake away because the drink will be cloudy anyway.

Of course, lemon juice is opaque, so you’d generally shake a drink that contains it. But we don’t in this case because the quantity is so small.

We like the flavor of Grand Marnier in this drink. You can substitute “generic” curaçao if you prefer, but the flavor won’t be as good, in our opinion. BTW, we discuss curaçao and triple sec (another orange-flavored liqueur) in more detail in our post on Cocktail Basics.

When a cocktail recipe specifies gin, it’s usually understood to mean dry gin. “London” dry gin is the most common style (it originally was distilled in London), but there are other styles of dry gin that are fairly similar (Plymouth gin, for example). We like to use the Beefeater brand in cocktails, but any good name brand will work.

Dry (white) vermouth is also called French vermouth. Sweet (red) vermouth is sometimes called Italian vermouth. For both, we like the Martini & Rossi brand. We’re also partial to Noilly Prat dry vermouth.

Vermouth has a relatively low alcohol quotient. So once it’s opened, it will start to oxidize. We store opened bottles in the refrigerator to extend their life.

Our usual reminder: We’re noncommercial and don’t receive compensation for mentioning brands. We recommend only what we like and buy with our own money.

I think I'll need a bucket of those and I'm not even American. The flavours and colours in this cocktail will brighten any day made dreary by election news. On the plus side, the Blue Jays won last night and may well be on their way to winning the World Series! Fingers and toes crossed, and a few of these beauties won't hurt either.Eva http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com

No wonder I never made it as a real journalist -- I don't like gin! But maybe the Grand Marnier would coax me into it. Whatever the drink, we all need a lot of them this year. Imagine what we miht be drinking this time next year!?!

A cocktail is a great idea to get us through this election season! I tried to watch the VP debate last night, but there was so much craziness and confusion I went back to reading my book. A cocktail would have been a better idea!

I married a journalist - some 31 years ago :) He never has been one for drinking but that's okay! I like it and can't wait to try this beautiful drink. He also doesn't do the "news" anymore but is still in media relations. Thank goodness because I would hate to hear (or have to read) the mess these days. Such a crazy bunch for sure (journalists and candidates)

I think I need more than one or 2 servings of these delightful little beverages to deal with the election woes, how about we make a pitcher of them? LOL I love your political football antics with Mrs. Riff, always a good chuckle. Sharing!

Wow, that's a beauty, John. I reckon I could down a few of those, particularly after watching your two candidates duelling... I thought politics were bad here, but Clinton and Trump really take the cake!

What an appropriate cocktail for the times. Maybe if I drink a few of those I'll become numb to the "stuff" of this election. :) Actually, this is a very interesting drink. The combination of both dry and sweet vermouth has me curious and I love the Grand Marnier, but then who wouldn't. Awesome cocktail John!

You are so right - I just can't switch to CNN nowadays because there is nothing on it other than heated election dicussions amongst commentators. For that, I think i'll need at least two of these journalist cocktail! Thanks for sharing.

Hahaha - I so enjoy the banter between you and Mrs KR at the end of your posts! Yes I think a lot of us have a case of "rampant election fever" and I'll drink to it being just like a car wreck that you can look away from! Thanks for introducing me to the story behind this. Fun Post!

I would become a journalist just to enjoy this cocktail everyday! But not one in politics! We need a drink too outside the US lol. it is almost over right? I did not know about the 'perfect' theory for martinis.

This is my kind of drink, love gin and vermouth too! It sounds great and just the cure after listening to all the politicians. But then I might need a couple or more, to get through Game 1 with the Cubs tonight too!!! Have a fun weekend!